November 3, 2020 — The federal government has extended protections designed to help keep a declining species of whale safe off New England until Nov. 15.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it is asking mariners to go slowly through an area south of Nantucket or avoid it completely. NOAA started the protections after an Aug. 31 sighting of a group of North Atlantic right whales.
November 3, 2020 — Scientists at federal fisheries laboratories are investigating how sound generated by the construction and operation of offshore wind turbines may affect black sea bass – a valuable species in the Northeast that is attracted to underwater structures like turbine foundations.
“No one knew for sure how much black sea bass can hear and how that changes as they age,” said Beth Phelan, a fishery biologist at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s laboratory at Sandy Hook, N.J. and a co-author of the study, in a narrative published online by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “We do know that black sea bass are attracted to underwater structures, and have anecdotal information that they move away from noise. We had to first determine the range of sounds they can hear by giving them a type of hearing test, much like we do to humans.”
Black sea bass typically congregate around hard structure, including docks, jetties and shipwrecks, and recreational fishermen and charter captains target them around the Block Island Wind Farm turbines off Rhode Island. The species supports a commercial fishery from the Mid-Atlantic into southern New England, and with waters warming in the Northeast black sea bass are extending their range into the Gulf of Maine.
November 3, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
WHAT/WHEN:
WHY THIS CLOSURE IS HAPPENING:
DURING THE CLOSURE:
November 2, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Fishermen sometimes unintentionally catch fish they do not want or cannot keep. This is called bycatch. While these fish are returned to the sea, many of them do not survive. This is a major problem worldwide—nearly 10 percent of global fishery catches are discarded each year
This waste of valuable seafood protein has been an increasing focus of management, industry, and public concern due to its ecological and economic impacts. That’s where our innovative donation program comes in.
Alaska fishermen occasionally catch Pacific halibut and salmon incidentally in trawls targeting groundfish. Because halibut and salmon are valuable targets of other fisheries, they are designated as prohibited species. Groundfish trawlers are not allowed to retain or sell them. Historically, all prohibited species caught in Alaska were discarded at sea to avoid any incentive to catch these species.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council and the Alaska seafood industry have a long history of cooperative efforts to reduce bycatch. However, even after bycatch has been eliminated to the extent practicable, some is inevitable.
In 1996, NOAA Fisheries and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council established the Prohibited Species Donation Program. It takes a unique approach to the problem of discarded fish by making it possible for fishermen to donate some bycatch to hunger relief organizations. It simultaneously reduces waste, provides high quality seafood protein to people in need, and avoids incentives to catch prohibited species.
“Bycatch donation is an example of thinking outside the box. When we think about reducing waste, it is usually about avoiding bycatch. This program is a creative solution to maximize the value of the bycatch that can’t be avoided,” said Jordan Watson, NOAA Fisheries biologist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
November 2, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries announces an extension to the previously triggered voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area or DMA) south of Nantucket.
This DMA was originally triggered by an August 31, 2020 sighting of an aggregation of right whales and previously extended until October 20, 2020, and again to November 3, 2020. We are now extending the Slow Zone through November 15, 2020 after an aerial survey team observed an aggregation of right whales South of Nantucket on October 31, 2020.
Mariners, please go around this areas or go slow (10 knots or less) inside this area where groups of right whales have been sighted.
South of Nantucket DMA is in effect through November 15.
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November 2, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
The Index Based Methods and Harvest Control Rules Peer Review Meeting will be held remotely December 7 – 11, 2020. Please note the new date in your calendar.
For meeting information, including how to participate, visit our event page.
Visit us here for more information about the working group.
Questions?
Contact Michele Traver, NEFSC Assessment Coordinator
October 30, 2020 — For the Yurok people, who have lived at the mouth of the Klamath River for generations, the spring run of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) is a welcome—and nutritious—relief from winter. But as the fish have dwindled to just a fraction of their original numbers, Indigenous groups there are pushing to have them protected by the Endangered Species Act. New research, which suggests genes play only a small role in distinguishing the spring salmon from their fall-run cousins, may call into question the need for such a designation.
The rivers of the Pacific Northwest used to teem with two waves of Chinook: those that arrived in March or April, and those that came 6 months later, swimming from the sea to their upriver breeding grounds. Although technically the same species, the spring-run and fall-run fish have some “iconic differences,” says Eric Anderson, a molecular geneticist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center. Spring salmon are smaller, fattier, and less sexually mature than fall fish. They also swim further upriver to breed.
To tease out the genetic basis of those differences, Anderson and colleagues teamed up with Yurok fishers living at the mouth of the Klamath River in northern California. Together, they examined 500 fish as they started their upstream journeys in all four seasons. The researchers measured the size of each fish, assessed its fattiness and reproductive status, and took samples of its DNA. The researchers gathered similar data from other rivers.
Past studies have shown that a small region of the salmon chromosome 28 contains two genes, GREB1L and ROCK1, that vary between spring and fall salmon. Anderson and his colleagues did further genomic studies, sequencing the whole genomes of 160 fish in the hopes of linking the two genes to the spring and fall traits. The data set is “impressive” and the work unique says Sheela Phansalkar Turbek, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who was not involved with the work.
October 30, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
The annual migration of Chinook salmon up West Coast rivers from the ocean has enriched ecosystems, inspired cultures, and shaped landscapes. Yet the timing of their migration is controlled by one small section of their genome, according to research published this week in Science.
This is the first time scientists have linked a single gene region to such an influential difference in a vertebrate species. For salmon, it determines whether they return upriver from the ocean in spring or fall. This has crucial implications for other species that rely on them for food. First author Neil Thompson of the University of California Santa Cruz and NOAA Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center said that this small genetic difference can have a major effect on a complex pattern of migration and reproduction.
Fish migrating upriver in spring may access habitat such as higher elevation tributaries. These habitats become less accessible to Chinook salmon migrating later in the year when stream flows decline. The result is that fall-run Chinook salmon remain lower in the watershed without continuing up into the tributaries.
However, the construction of dams in the West blocked spring-run Chinook salmon from much of their original spawning habitat. This contributed to the listing of several spring-migrating fish under the Endangered Species Act. Fall-run Chinook salmon on the West Coast are generally more abundant.
The scientists identified the gene region influencing migration with whole-genome sequencing. Then, they scientists examined the genetic pattern in more than 500 Chinook salmon caught by the Yurok Tribe in the Klamath River estuary. They analyzed the effects of variation in this genetic region on migration timing and other physiological traits.
October 30, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:
The Pacific Fishery Management Council, National Marine Fisheries Service, and the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center have initiated a review of essential fish habitat provisions in the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan. This call for data and information is intended to support the review. Information and data sources can include published scientific literature, unpublished scientific reports, information from interested parties, and previously unavailable or inaccessible data. Information relevant to the CPS EFH review should be submitted no later than Monday November 30th, 2020.
Please see the “Call for data and information” announcement on the Council’s website for further details..
October 30, 2020 — As the seafood industry responds and adapts to the effects of covid-19, NOAA is working to fill in some information gaps in its economic impact surveys.
One of those gaps is West Coast and Alaska seafood harvesters — folks on the East Coast have already been surveyed.
Ocean Strategies is aggregating information and delivering it confidentially to NOAA, helping to ensure West Coast harvesters are included in this important work to document impacts to the commercial fishing industry.